Do Mormons Believe In The Bible

Are Mormon Marriages Different Is Divorce Allowed

Mormon marriages are different from most marriages because they are considered eternal. If a husband and wife are sealed together in the temple, they can be together on into the celestial kingdom. However, the church does have a process for annulment and sees divorce as an unfortunately necessary evil. In Mormon President Gordon Hinckley’s words: “There is now and again a legitimate cause for divorce. I am not one to say that it is never justified. But I say without hesitation that this plague among us, which seems to be growing everywhere, is not of God, but rather is the work of the adversary of righteousness and peace and truth.”

Just as a civil marriage does not automatically translate into a temple sealing for a Mormon couple, a civil divorce does not unseal them. If a divorcing couple wishes to become unsealed, they must receive a cancellation of sealing, which requires approval from high-ranking church officials. A Mormon woman must receive a cancellation of sealing prior to remarrying if she wishes her next marriage to be sealed in the temple. However, because men are permitted to be sealed to more than one woman, they do not have to cancel a previous sealing in order to remarry in the temple.

Do Mormons Pass An Offering Plate In Church

No. Tithes and offerings are considered a private and personal thing. Special envelopes are provided for tithing and other offerings, such as the fund used to help those in need. Individuals may submit their offerings by mail or in person. At the end of each year, each member is invited to meet with their congregation’s bishop for ‘tithing settlement,’ which allows the member to see if church records match their own financial records. The actual dollar amount of the tithing records is generally not discussed at these meetings, because it is considered a private matter between the member and Heavenly Father.

Gifts Of The Bible From The Mormon Church

Since the days that Jesus Christ walked the earth, His disciples have been seeking to share the good news of the gospel with the world. It is in this spirit that The Church of Jesus Christ offers a free copy of the King James Bible to those of any faith. In addition, The Church of Jesus Christ has produced videos of Bible stories that are available for all. President Henry B. Eyring said:

The First Presidency has authorized the creation of a facility in the deserts of Utah in which scenes from the Saviors ministry could be re-created and filmed. The objective in that effort has been to remain true to the scriptural text. Like the scriptures which these short films follow faithfully, they may seem to you quiet. Your faith and the Holy Ghost will create the emotion these world-changing events deserve.

The project will yield more than 100 vignettes from the life of the Savior, from His birth to His Resurrection. Each video is taken directly from the King James Bible. Elder Lynn G. Robbins said:

The Bible videos are available to view or download. You can request a free copy of the Holy Bible from The Church of Jesus Christ.

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Mormons Dedicate More Than 2 Hours Per Week To Church Worship

Mormons have their main church meetings on Sundays. The meetings last 2 hours long. The first meeting is called Sacrament Meeting, where the bread and water are passed around as a memory of Christs last supper and to renew promises the Mormons have made to serve Christ.

The second meeting is called Sunday School. The youth and kids each go to meetings with kids their own ages, and adults meet together to study the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

In addition to Sunday worship, we attend the temple , read the scriptures daily, have church meetings in our homes, and read our scriptures daily.

The public is always invited to attend Mormon church services.

We Can Use The Bible To Witness To Mormons

One positive consequence of the LDS Churchs effort to be accepted as Christian is that Mormons are less quick to reject Bible verses as they once did. Rejecting the Bible is not what Christians do.

Vice versa, scholarly Mormons will frequently cite liberal Christians attacks on the Bible as support for their position that many plain and precious things have been removed from the Bible.

The bottom line is that we dont have to hesitate in sharing Bible verses with Mormons.

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The Book Of Mormon On The Bible

Critics often discuss two of Nephi’s statements regarding the Bible as found in the Book of Mormon. Nephi’s perspective is that of modern Latter-day Saints: The Bible contains truth from God. However, it is still the work of men, and is only as reliable as the men who wrote, translated and copied it.

It is interesting that the Book of Mormon itself has begun to be seen as a witness to the textual criticism of the Bible. Source critical theory of the Old Testament splits the story of David and Goliath into two separate accounts that were later merged into the common story that we have today. Scholars believe these two traditions represent an earlier source and a later source. One of the primary evidences for this argument is the fact that some of the added material is missing from the Septuagint . In a paper presented at the 2001 FAIR Conference, Benjamin McGuire presented evidence that Nephi, in borrowing from the story of David and Goliath, relied on a text that did not have the added or late material. This would be in harmony with current scholarship of the Old Testament, which indicates that this material was added at the time of the captivity in Babylon, and certainly after Nephi had left Jerusalem with his Brass Plates.

What Do Mormons Believe

What Do Mormons Believe: The Primary Differences Between Mormonism & Christianity

What Do Mormons Believe: Divine AuthorityThe Mormon church uses two sources as its primary authorities: the Book of Mormon and the Bible. The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price are also viewed as divinely authoritative.In contrast, the Christian church uses the Holy Bible alone as its authority from God . Joseph Smith is not recognized as a prophet.

What Do Mormons Believe: The Nature of GodThe Mormon church sees God as the Supreme Being of the universe. However, He gradually acquired that position over a long period of time by living a perfect and righteous life. God the Father has a body . 1In contrast, the biblical Christianity proclaims God as eternally and infinitely supreme . He is the same today as always . He is a spirit Being .

What Do Mormons Believe: Life After DeathThe Mormon church maintains that although there is temporary punishment for those that are most wicked, Jesus Christ will establish a new kingdom that will consist of three levels: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. In contrast, biblical Christianity holds that there are only two possible fates after death, heaven or hell. These locations are final, both physically and spiritually .

Also Check: Chronological Order Of Bible

The Text Of The Bible Is Pure

A. The New Testament. Most if not all of the New Testament was originally written in Greek. How do we know that the New Testament which we have today is what was originally written? Lets take a look at the evidence that consists of thousands of ancient manuscripts, ancient versions, and quotations of the New Testament found in the writings of the early Church Fathers.

1) Greek Manuscripts. Approximately 5,000 manuscripts of the New Testament have survived in the original language. 2) Ancient Versions. By the second century, the New Testament was being translated into different languages. Syriac, Latin, Coptic and other translations provide valuable sources from which to compare. 3) Early Church Fathers. Within 300 years of Christ, almost 36,000 quotations of the New Testament appear in the writings of the early Church Fathers. In fact, every verse in the New Testament is quoted but eleven.

B. The Old Testament. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew before the New Testament . One issue on which Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, and Christians agree is Jesus and his apostles believed that the Old Testament was the inspired, uncorrupted Word of God.

Even scholars who do not believe the Bible refuse to levy the charge that the Bible has been corrupted over the years

Facts About Us Mormons

Twice each year, in April and October, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds its General Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. These conferences which are open to all members of the LDS church and are broadcast around the world offer Mormons an opportunity to hear their leaders speak on a host of topics.

As the next conference gets underway this weekend, here are six facts about U.S. Mormons from Pew Research Center surveys:

1The LDS church typically places very high importance on families and traditional gender roles. Indeed, 81% of Mormons say being a good parent is one of the most important things in life. And 73% say the same about having a successful marriage. By comparison, half of all U.S. adults say being a good parent is one of the most important things in life, and only one-third say having a successful marriage is of utmost importance. Additionally, 58% of Mormons say a marriage where the husband provides and the wife stays at home is preferable to one in which both spouses have jobs. Among the general public, most people express the opposite view, saying a marriage in which both spouses have jobs and take responsibility for housework and child rearing is more satisfying. At this falls pre-conference session specifically for Mormon women, participants were urged to defend the churchs teachings on marriage, family and sexuality.

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What About All The Translations

We have established that the Hebrew and Greek texts used today by translators are essentially pure to what the originals said. So why are there so many English translations of the Bible? Does this indicate that we cannot be certain what those Hebrew and Greek texts said?

It has been nearly 400 years since the King James Version of the Biblewas produced. The English language has changed considerably over that period of time. The orthography of 1611 is not readable to most of us today as anyone picking up a KJV from 1611 will immediately find. Likewise some spellings and word meanings are different today than four hundred years ago. For example, Psalm 5:6 in the King James Version reads:

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing.

To speak leasing today might refer to a consumer going to a car dealership and discussing the leasing of an automobile. However, in Elizabethan English, the term leasing meant to lie. Modern translations update the language.

Thou dost destroy those who speak falsehood. You destroy those who tell lies.

Consider 1 Corinthians 15:9 where Paul says:

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

The word meet is no longer used in the sense of being worthy or deserving. The original text and the meaning of the Greek word remains unchanged, but our English translation of the word should be updated as our language changes. Modern translations have responded.

Why Is Family Life So Central To Latter

• about genealogy and the Mormon archives.

Mormons believe that the family is an eternal unit and central to God’s plan. In fact, eternal progression toward Godhood is limited to those who marry for time and eternity in a ceremony conducted by a properly ordained member of the LDS priesthood in a Mormon temple. Church President Hinckley has also stressed the importance of the family during mortal life, saying, “If you want to reform a nation, you begin with families, with parents who teach their children principles and values that are positive and affirmative and will lead them to worthwhile endeavors. That is the basic failure that has taken place in America. And we are making a tremendous effort to bring about greater solidarity in families. Parents have no greater responsibility in this world than the bringing up of their children in the right way, and they will have no greater satisfaction as the years pass than to see those children grow in integrity and honesty and make something of their lives, adding to society because they are a part of it.” To strengthen families, many Mormons observe “family home evening.” This is one night a week — generally Monday — that a family spends together praying, learning about scripture, sharing things from their lives, and playing games or engaging in other fun at-home activities.

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Where Can You Find Mormon Doctrinal Positions

Before I answer that I would like to give you a wonderful reference if you ever want to know about cults or other religious groups there is a classic book written by Walter Martin called Kingdom of the Cults. This book has been in my library probably for 30 years and has since been updated several times.

When it comes to Mormons, first it is important to note that officially the proper name of the Mormon Church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They subscribe primarily to the teachings of Joseph Smith who is its founder. He started the church in New York in 1830 and authored one of the foundational books within the Mormon religion which is The Book of Mormon. Mormons will also derive their doctrinal positions from Doctrines and Covenants, as well as the Pearl of Great Price. You can also learn more about Mormon beliefs by referring to the Journal of Discourses, which is a 26-volume collection of public sermons by early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One of those was Brigham Young who is a revered authoritative figure in the history of the church.

Myth : Mormons Practice Polygamy

Polygamy, also known as plural marriage, was a central practice for Mormons in the 19th century, but the church outlawed it in 1904 and anyone suspected of practicing polygamy today is excommunicated.

In 1840, Joseph Smith received a revelation directing church members to reinstate the ancient practice of plural marriage as a way of quickly growing the faith’s numbers. Since plural marriage was illegal in the United States, Mormons became an outlaw people and the subject of bitter persecution, driven from place to place until they finally found sanctuary in the wilds of Utah, which wasn’t yet a state.

In 1890, as Mormons were lobbying Congress to admit Utah as a state, the then-prophet of the church Wilford Woodruff promised to end the practice of plural marriage in the faith. And in 1904, polygamy officially became punishable by excommunication from the church.

The ongoing confusion about Mormons and polygamy is that there are splinter sects living in Northern Mexico and rural parts of Arizona and Utah who continue to practice polygamy and call themselves the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These groups, which often dress in 19th-century garb and live in isolated compounds, are separate and distinct from mainstream Mormons.

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What Do Mormons Believe About The Bible And The Book Of Mormon Session 1

Myth : Mormons Can’t Drink Caffeinated Beverages

Faithful Mormons do their best to live by a set of health and lifestyle rules known as the Word of Wisdom. The original Word of Wisdom was a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1833 after he prayed about the use of tobacco among church members. The answer Smith received was that men and women should not only avoid tobacco, but also alcohol and “hot drinks,” which were interpreted as coffee and tea. Meat was also to be eaten “sparingly,” only in times of winter and famine, and then always with thanksgiving.

In the original revelation, the Word of Wisdom was less a rule than a “principle with promise” the promise being physical health, wisdom and knowledge to those who follow its guidelines.

“For much of the first decades of the church, the Word of Wisdom was considered good advice, something that good saints might do who wanted the promises in the revelation,” says Bowman. “But there are instances of members not following it, in part because it wasn’t seen as a formal commandment or injunction. The first wagon train that left for Salt Lake City carried coffee with it.”

In the early 20th century, as polygamy ended, Bowman says that the Word of Wisdom took on a new significance as a way of maintaining social boundaries between the Latter-day Saints and outsiders. Eventually, adherence to the Word of Wisdom’s injunctions against alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea became a prerequisite for full activity in the Church.

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Does The Lds Church Have Ministers Or Pastors

Not in the traditional sense. Each congregation is presided over by a ‘bishop,’ who is a steward to its members, and the bishop has two assistants, called ‘counselors.’ These are volunteer, unpaid positions, and usually last for about five years. The church as a whole is headed by a group of 12 men and is presided over by the current prophet, whose title is “President” of the church.